I hate coins. When I receive change, it almost inevitable finds itself dramatically hurled on the floor, or trickled in between the couch cushions, or randomly dumped in tables and receptacles around the house.

As such, I end up generating a shocking amount of coinage every week, and buckets and buckets of rattling copper, nickel and silver every month. What to do with all of those coins, though? How about turn it into iTunes credit?

Apple offers a range of lease programs and financing options for schools, colleges, and businesses

The East Alton school district in southwest Illinois announced earlier this week that it will be launching a one-ton-one iPad deployment for all students in grades three through eight (plus shared iPads for kindergarten through second grade). The announcement is far from unique. Many schools across the U.S. and throughout the world have already launched similar programs – some of them on a much larger scale.

One of the interesting points about East Alton’s decision, however, is that the school district isn’t buying the iPads for its students – a least not initially. Instead, the district has signed a four-year leasing agreement for the iPads. The decision highlights Apple’s often overlooked leasing programs for both business education customers.